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By Mariandrea Mueller — Wednesday, July 15th, 2009
 Interim City Manager Larry Pennell Fillmore City Council held a Special Meeting on July 14th to discuss the appointment of a permanent City Manager. All five Council Members, the Transitional City Manager Larry Pennell, and City Attorney Ted Schneider were present. The discussion itself took place in closed session, but beforehand the Council mentioned some of the issues involved in their upcoming decision. Council Member Jamey Brooks requested that the Council discuss the permanent City Manager's pay range as a future agenda item. He wants to set a firm limit at the high end of the range, and opined that the current salary is too high. The current salary range is $9,395.84 - $10,583.33 per month, or an annual salary of $112,750 - $127,000. Pennell mentioned that the position candidates are good people who are on the way up, and for the most part already employed. He provided the Council with handouts listing salaries of city managers in cities comparable to Fillmore. Council Member Laurie Hernandez said that Fillmore's salary was not out of line, but agreed that it should be discussed as soon as possible. Mayor Patti Walker noted that Pennell is scheduled to cease being Transitional City Manager after August 26th. The City's employment agreement with him limits the total number of hours he will work. The agenda item was set for the July 28th meeting, because the July 23rd meeting already has a full agenda. CONTINUED » |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 15th, 2009
 Central Station Townhomes are courtesy of Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation, financed by the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development. Enlarge Photo  The Central Station Townhouses project appears to be more than half finished. The threestory complex is crowded against the railroad tracks, with a single, narrow entry, much to the chagrin of those who opposed the plan for poor location and high density. Enlarge Photo |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 15th, 2009
 Ventura County Sheriff's Department POLICE BLOTTER |
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By Anonymous — Thursday, July 9th, 2009
Ariat, International of Union City, California, Resistol Hats of Garland, Texas and the National High School Rodeo Association-Wrangler Division is proud to announce that Tyler Forsberg, Piru, was recently named the boy's Ail-Around Champion for the year by the 2009 California Junior High School Rodeo Association. To earn this honor, Forsberg accumulated more points in two or more events, than any other male California High School Rodeo members for the 2008-2009 rodeo season, which ended with the recent California Junior High School Rodeo finals held in Plymouth, California. Forsberg finished the state/province finals as follows: Tie Down Roping – Reserve Champion 2009; Boys Goat Tying – Champion (won 3 rounds and average); Ribbon Roping – Champion (won 2 rounds and average); Team Roping Heeler (won 2 rounds and average). For being named the All-Around Champion, Forsberg was awarded numerous prizes as well as a new pair of Ariat boots and a new Resistol straw hat. "This sponsorship of the boy's year-end Ail-Around awards for the 47 NHSRA-Wrangler Division state and provincial associations is a true privilege for Ariat and Resistol. We take great pride in manufacturing the finest footwear and cowboy hats available for the equine competitor and consider it to be an honor to be the official footwear and cowboy hat of the National High School Rodeo Association-Wrangler Division," comments Tabatha Nelson, Sponsorship Coordinator for Ariat and Stan Redding of Resistol Hats. "Without the tremendous support the NHSRA-Wrangler Division receives from great companies like Ariat, the NHSR-Wrangler Division would simply not be able to accomplish everything it does for its members. The Ariat All-Around Champion awards program is just on example of how much all of our sponsors care about the success of the NHSRA-Wrangler Division," adds Kent Sturman, NHSRA Executive Director. As a non-profit corporation organized in 1947 to support youth, education, the great sport of rodeo, and the North American western heritage, the NHSRA is the world's largest rodeo organization with over 12,000 members. Annually, the NHSRA sanctions more than 1,200 rodeos through out the U.S., Canada, and Australia. To find out more about high school rodeo or how you can become involved with the NHSRA, call the NHSRA National Office at 1-800-466-4772 or visit the web site at www.nhsra.org. |
 The 2009 Fourth of July Car Show & Festival drew its usual large crowd. The weather was fine, the cars were fine, the day was fine. Below are some examples of antiques and classic cars on display at the show. Enlarge Photo By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
Part One
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
Ventura County Sheriff's Department At approximately 1:37 a.m., July 5, 2009, deputies with the Fillmore Police Department responded to a call of a shooting victim in the 1000 block of Wileman St. When they arrived, they found that Rafael Torres 21, a resident of Santa Paula, had suffered a single gunshot to his chest. Torres was treated at the scene by personnel with the Fillmore Fire Department and American Medical Response and transported to the Ventura County Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition. Anyone with information is asked to contact Sergeant Hester, with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department’s Major Crimes Unit, or the Ventura County Crime Stoppers. Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 494-TALK (Thousand Oaks / Moorpark) |
 Assistant City Manager Bill Bartels shows where the public entrance to the all-weather track will be for those wishing to jog. A new agreement between the school district and city hall has made this long-awaited event happen. Enlarge Photo By Mariandrea Mueller — Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
For over a year, Fillmore citizens have been lobbying the Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) to allow public access to the new all-weather track installed at Fillmore High School (FHS). Both the City Council and the School Board had given their approval to the development of a pilot program for community access to the track at specifically scheduled times through a Runners’ Club. A public meeting for interested runners and walkers regarding the formation of the club and the start of the pilot program will be held at the District Office Boardroom (627 Sespe Ave.) on August 3, 2009 at 7 p.m. Assistant Superintendent Mike Bush and Deputy City Manager Bill Bartels expect the club to have access to the track starting in mid-August or late September, depending partly on how the meeting goes. Two main issues which had to be resolved by City and FUSD staff before the pilot could proceed were supervision and liability. Insurance is part of the liability issue. As early as August 2008, there was an understanding among School Board members that the track had been used by the community in the past, the community would like to continue using the track, and that most of the public advocates were hoping for a compromise that would allow public access to the track without significantly increasing the risk of damages. On Aug 19, 2008, the School Board decided that the public should only have access to the track through the Civic Center Act to limit damages and liabilities. The Act allows organizations to apply at the District for permits specifying dates to use school facilities. A private organization would have been charged a rental fee of $125 per hour for use of the track and field, in addition to the costs of obtaining insurance and paying school employees to supervise running time. At the September 2008 joint City Council-School Board meeting, it was agreed that City and FUSD staff would work out the issues involved before handing the formation of a public running club over to Parks and Recreation. Bartels explained that because the City and FUSD have a Joint Use of Facilities Agreement, the hope is to make the club affordable for its members, the City, and FUSD. CONTINUED » |
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By Bert Rapp — Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
By July 15, 2009 the sewage flow to the 1955 Wastewater Treatment will be completely redirected to the new Wastewater Recycling Plant. After the week of July 15th the shut down and decommissioning of the old plant will begin. The old plant will likely give us a few odors as a goodbye present. A sewer treatment plant is a complex organism that lives on the energy in the sewage. As the bacteria, protozoa, and rotifers consume the waste they clean the water. When a treatment plant’s food supply is cut off it dies and begins to stink. To control the odors as much as possible we will feed the plant molasses as a replacement food supply while we take each process off line cleaning and disinfecting each component. The new wastewater recycling plant was started up on June 18th as we imported 9 tanker truck loads of bacteria from the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Santa Clarita. Then we fed these new bacteria with our Fillmore sewage gradually growing their numbers. For the first week we pumped 90,000 gallons per day of sewage to them and on June 24th we gave them 75% of the sewage from the City. Finally on or about July 15 100% of the sewage flow will be directed to the new plant completely turning off the old plant. CONTINUED » |
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By Anonymous — Monday, July 6th, 2009
Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services
Ventura County Sheriff's Department Date & Time: July 6, 2009 12:00 PM A Verizon telephone outage has affected many Ventura County residents ability to call for help in the Police Fire Dispatch Sheriff Fire Residents are asked to not test the phone lines or call 911 unless they have an emergency. |
 It’s that time of year! The City of Fillmore is offering Safe & Sane fireworks for sale through numerous local non-profit organizations. Shown is the Saint Francis of Assisi fireworks booth making some sales. So find your favorite booth, see list page 2, and buy, buy, buy! Go to http://www.ca-fireworks.presskit247.com/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=494 for list of all 247 California cities selling fireworks this year. Enlarge Photo By Anonymous — Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
July 4th Celebration Time!
The City of Fillmore Fire Department wants to ensure that Fillmore citizens enjoy a safe Fourth of July weekend. Citizens are reminded that “safe & sane” fireworks sold in Fillmore are legal between June 28 12:00pm – July 5 12:00pm. The use of any type of non-approved fireworks is never legal and will result in criminal charges and the potential for a $1000 fine. If you witness any illegal activity please report it! An anonymous tip line has been setup to report violators. Please call 805-524-1500 ext. 350 to report illegal activity. Below are several safety tips to insure you and your family enjoy a safe Independence Day Celebration. Fire Safety |